(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording system for recording in an external transportable memory device operation data of a machine, for example, an earthworking vehicle such as an off-highway truck or a loader, heavy duty vehicles, and a plant, and more particularly to a system having a general-purpose property in its operation data-recording device.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
In order to control the operation of vehicles, a tachometer has been utilized to record analogue representations of speed, traveled distance and engine speed on a uniformly rotating cylindrical recording paper with a printing needle.
Since the recording by such a tachometer is limitted to a mechanical measurement and the recording paper therefor is narrow in width, it is very difficult to accurately read the recorded data and is impossible to automatize the processing of the recorded data (such as automated calculation of an average speed or total traveled distance).
It is also known, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open (Kokai) No. Sho 58-84394, a digitalized operation control system, which comprises a recording device mounted on a vehicle such as a truck, a bus and a taxicab, and an analysis device set up on the ground, and wherein the recording device stores not only data entered by a driver for preparing a daily report, but also other data such as traveled distance and speed which can be automatically stored at predetermined time intervals. When the memory device housed within the recording device and stored with above various data is connected to the analysis device set up on the ground, an operational daily report is automatically supplied.
An employment of a recorder/analysis device comprising a microcomputer as mentioned above makes it possible to automatized the processing of operation data.
Since operation data required for a specific operation control of an earthworking vehicle, a vehicle for any work or other machine differs depending on the content of the operation, as well as on a specific operation data-detecting and measuring device to be employed in the operation, the specification of the data-recording device is also required to be separately prepared.
Under the circumstances, it is highly desired to develop an operation data recording system which is extendable and of general-purpose property, thereby to increase the capacity thereof in accordance with the operation conditions of a machine, and to permit interchanging of a processing program for conducting the conversion of measured signals stored from each different sensor or measuring means into operation data.
It would be also desirable if it is possible to store the processing program of the operation data in an IC card or other external memory, and to record operation data in the external memory after performing the reading of the program with an operation data-recording device.